As he walked, black mist like flames spread out from his exposed skin, swaying unsteadily. The man who walked out of the shadows didn't look like a human at all, except for his clothes. Even among Kivotos, he looked extremely abnormal and chilling. But his tone and attitude were unusually polite, in stark contrast to his terrifying appearance. He asked politely, "Is there anything I can do to help?" Chapter 60 Yes, who is it? "Hmph, I can't say I'm troubled. It's just that there was a small mistake in the calculation." As this weirdo who made him feel uncomfortable kept approaching, Caesar unconsciously sat up straight and faced him with a more upright posture, but he said sarcastically, "The actual performance of those people in Abydos is much better than the data you provided!" "..." The man in the black suit - the man in the black suit lowered his head in silence, his face emitting black smoke but not changing at all, making it impossible to tell whether he was angry because of Caesar's accusation or just thinking about himself. After a moment, the man in black slowly raised his chin, as if he was still immersed in his own thoughts, and said to himself, "There should be no errors or omissions in the data. Can it only be explained by the fact that the students of Abydos have suddenly become stronger recently?"
Caesar frowned. He felt very bad to be ignored, not to mention that he was the representative of Caesar PMC. But he had to suppress his anger and asked patiently, "What do you mean?" "Ah, the situation is still unclear, but I will personally confirm the reason for the change in Abydos." The man in black seemed to have just realized that there was a living person in front of him. He nodded slightly and said with a smile, "After the investigation is clear, I will compile it into a report and submit it to you." "Then I'll take my leave." Without waiting for Caesar's reply, he bowed slightly and turned away. "..." Looking at the people in black uniform who came and went as they pleased, as if they were treating this place as a public toilet, Caesar clenched his fingers unconsciously. It’s simply unbearable! Fortunately, he finally endured it. After grunting twice and imagining smashing his size 52 shoes on the opponent's size 42 boiled egg-like forehead, Caesar breathed a sigh of satisfaction and decided to put more pressure on the convenience house. ------------------------------------- "Ha... I'm so tired..." Kuromi Serika leaned on her knees with her hands, breathing heavily. Sweat dripped down the girl's cheeks and chin as her shoulders rose and fell. Even the cat ears on her head were limp on her hair. "We've been gone... for how long..." Izayoino pushed her long hair, which was stuck together by sweat, to her ears. She took out her cell phone and took a look at it, smiling very reluctantly, "It's almost three hours..." "Hifumi-chan, uncle... I really can't take it anymore..." Hoshino Takanashi wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked up at the sun in the sky that was deformed by the heat, and suddenly missed the short hair he had in the first grade. "My waist and knees are crying." As she spoke, she pounded her slender waist like a little old man. "Eh?! It's your uncle?!" Ajiya Hifumi widened her eyes slightly and quickly stepped forward to support Kotori Hoshino's arm, "Sorry, I didn't expect you to be so old!" "Don't believe everything others say, Hifumi-chan!" Looking at the girl who obviously took Hoshino Takanashi's nonsense seriously, Kuromi Serika couldn't help but complain, "What do you mean by 'you're already this old'? Senior Hoshino is almost the same age as us!" Just as the girl turned around and was about to say something to her senior, she suddenly caught a glimpse of Si Wang walking out of the store with a few bags in his hands. She immediately shut up the words that were about to come out of her mouth.
"Here, Taiyaki." Si Wang distributed the oil paper bags in his hand to the girls one by one, and then said to the communicator, "Ayane-san, I'm sorry to keep you at home. If you want to eat anything, please feel free to do so. I will bring it back for you on the way back." "It's okay, teacher." Okumura Ayane's image popped up in front of the camera. She shook her head repeatedly and took out a bag of unopened snacks from outside the screen, saying, "There are a lot of snacks in the school that Nomiya-senpai bought but haven't finished eating yet." "Teacher." Sand Wolf Baizi noticed Si Wang's empty hands after handing over the Taiyaki, and asked, "Did you forget to buy one for yourself?" "No." Si Wang waved his hand casually, "I just don't like fried food." "Then please at least taste it." A gleam of light flashed in Sand Wolf Baizi's eyes. She took out a Taiyaki and handed it straight to Si Wang, almost stuffing it directly into Si Wang's mouth. "Give!" The girls in Abydos couldn't help but slow down their movements and watch this scene. Si Wang didn't think too much about it. He just looked at the girl's eyes full of expectation. He thought about it and felt that there didn't seem to be any special reason to refuse, so he bit it very simply. After chewing it twice and swallowing it, he nodded to the girl and said, "Thank you, it tastes very good." The girls looked at the steaming bags in their hands and their minds suddenly became active. "Teacher~" Izayoino came over with her hands behind her back and a smile on her face. She flipped her right hand upwards and conjured up a Taiyaki like a magic trick. "Can you try mine? The fish head is a little smaller than the one with Shirako sauce, and the taste should be a little different~" "Teacher, uncle, I seem to be missing a piece of my fish scale~" Hoshino Kotori came over with a chuckle, "Do you want to try it too?" Kuromi Serika was holding the taiyaki that she was about to put into her mouth. She looked left and right, and finally grabbed Ajitani Hifumi, who was standing there in a daze and didn't understand what was going on, and pulled her to run in front of Si Wang. "Teacher, Hifumi-chan, please try her Taiyaki too!" Acigu Rifumei, "???" After an indescribable ordeal, Si Wang threw the tissue he had just used to wipe his mouth into the trash can and turned to look at Ajitani Hifumi, who was covering her cheek with her hands and looking embarrassed. "Hifumi-san," he asked, "how many places do we probably need to investigate?" "There are probably three more places." Ajiya Hifumi took a deep breath. Although her face was still slightly red, she at least had the courage to look Si Wang in the face and speak. "Although there are three more places to go, it's very strange that we haven't found any information yet." As she spoke, the girl also showed a puzzled expression on her face. "It is very common to buy banned weapons and equipment in the black market, but it is really strange that we haven't found any traces until now. Whether it is the sales channel, storage records, or bills, there is no trace at all... "It's as if..." Ajitani Hifumi hesitated for a moment and said her speculation, "It's as if it was erased artificially..." Chapter 61 Okay, I thought too much Sand Wolf Baizi tilted his head in confusion, "Is it so abnormal?" "Rather than being abnormal... it's more like giving people a feeling of 'Is it necessary to go to this extent?'" Ajiya Hifumi explained while pinching a piece of taiyaki. "In a sense, the companies gathered here all chose to set up in this area because they wanted to be free from the constraints of the law. They will not cover up their criminal traces like other normal companies would." Si Wang said casually, "Just like a murderer would not hide the evidence of his theft?" "Uh... ah ha ha... ah ha ha." Ajiya Hifumi choked. Although Si Wang's description was very vivid, for some reason it didn't make sense. The girl forced a smile and said, "That's... that's it?" Looking at the juniors who were gradually approaching the answer to the puzzle, Hoshino Takanashi showed a headache expression, and then chose to kick this trouble to Si Wang, "Teacher, what do you think?" "..." Si Wang glanced at Kotori Yu Xingye. The girl put her hands together and made a "please" expression. Si Wang instantly understood what the girl meant. He pretended to think seriously and said, "There are probably two possibilities."
Thanks to Caesars, for finally not exposing himself like a funny villain in a fairy tale - although it was still stupid that they didn't find someone to blame - but he finally had some room to make up a story. "Teacher, which two possibilities?!" Kuromi Serika asked impatiently, without even noticing the Taiyaki crumbs on the corner of her mouth. "First, the sale of the tanks to the Steel Helmets was a dictatorial decision made by a certain company executive for his own personal gain. It was not discussed in a meeting within the group. If it were exposed, it would affect his future and his position, so he deliberately erased all traces of the matter." "As for the second one..." When everyone focused their attention on his face, Si Wang also used [Aphid] to secretly observe the expression on Kotori Yui's face, "Maybe there is a mastermind behind the group selling tanks, and he is the kind of person who will die in the light of day in Kivotos, so he has to help their master cover up his tracks." In the sight of [Aphid], Hoshino Takanashi bit his lips for a moment, but when he moved his gaze away, he returned to his previous lazy look. And winked at him. Si Wang ignored Kotori Yu's cute attempt to divert attention and concluded, "Considering that the traces were wiped out so cleanly and I haven't found any traces after walking around for almost an afternoon, I tend to lean towards the second option." Silence, silence descended from the sky, suffocating the laughter and deliciousness that had come before. For a long time, no one spoke a word, and even their breathing was unconsciously lowered. Only the incompatible noise from the street could be heard. Everyone was carefully chewing on the profound meaning of Si Wang's words. Ajitani Hifumi felt her scalp tingling. She didn't expect that she just went to the black market to buy a limited edition Pelolo-sama doll, but she ended up being involved in a conspiracy that seemed to involve Kivotos. Maybe this is a good thing? Can we inform Master Nagisa in advance to prepare? "Well...well, maybe this matter is not..." A series of words such as "kidnapper", "extortionist", and "bandit leader" popped up in her mind. Ajitani Hifumi hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to call Si Wang like the students of Abydos, "...Teacher thinks so complicated. In the black market, there are actually many companies that have achieved this level, such as..." After looking around for a while, Ajiya Hifumi's eyes lit up and she pointed to a silver-white building, "For example, that building is a very famous black bank in the black market." Si Wang looked in the direction of Aci Gu Ri Fumi's finger and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. The building the girl was pointing to was one of the black banks under the Caesars Group. He had a feeling that the secret that Hoshino Kotori had been fooling around with for a long time, and that he had been dragging along with him, at least one of the secrets, might no longer be hidden today. "Black bank?" When Kuromi Serika heard this word for the first time, she showed a puzzled expression. "That's right." Feeling the suffocating atmosphere dissipate, Ajitani Hifumi quietly breathed a sigh of relief and explained, "It is one of the largest banks in the black market. As far as I know, 15% of the stolen goods from the crimes committed by Kivotos will flow into it, and then be converted into other illegal weapons or equipment, and then used for other crimes..." "If it's true what you said, Hifumi-chan..." Izayonomiya looked at the building shining brightly in the sun, "Then this bank has completely incited crime, right?" "So why is it still called the Black Bank?! Isn't it obvious that they are part of a criminal organization?!" Kuromi Serika cursed, "This is too much! What on earth is the Federation Student Union in charge of?!" Hearing the girl's scolding, Si Wang couldn't help but laugh, "Actually, the Federal Student Union is still in charge, but it mainly manages two things." "They don't even care about the crime that's right in front of them!" Kuromi Serika said unhappily, "What other two things will they care about?" Si Wang smiled even more happily, "That means I don't care about this or that~" Not only Kuromi Serika, but also the other girls who heard this were stunned. "Teacher..." Izayoino gently pulled Si Wang's sleeve, "You also belong to the Federation Student Union, there is no need to say that about yourself..." Si Wang shrugged indifferently, "It's all obvious to everyone, there's nothing to keep quiet about." "Don't take the teacher's words too seriously, Serika-chan." Seeing that the junior looked very depressed, Hoshino Takanashi patted Serika Kuromi's shoulder and comforted her, "Everyone has their own difficulties. Just like our Abydos is burdened with a debt of 900 million, the Federal Student Union must also have problems that they cannot solve."
"Yes, that's right." Sand Wolf Baizi nodded. She quickly accepted Si Wang's theory. "In the past, our attention was all focused on Abydos. We rarely knew anything about the outside world, but the outside world is definitely more complicated than Abydos with only five people." Although she was repeatedly comforted by her seniors, Kuromi Serika still had an expression of disbelief. "Sorry to interrupt." The image of Okumura Ayane appeared beside everyone, "An armed group is approaching you." Chapter 62: Caesar Group "!!!" The Sand Wolf Baizi's expression immediately became alert, his gray-white wolf ears trembled, and he turned towards the direction where the engine sound came from. "It seems that the other party hasn't noticed us yet..." Ayane Okumura reminded while adjusting the drone screen, "I think it's better for everyone to find a place to hide now..." "Don't be so nervous, Baizi." Si Wang pressed down the muzzle of the gun that Sand Wolf Baizi raised unconsciously, and comforted him, "Don't forget that we are wearing something on our heads. Now, our identities are not students of Abydos, but the guidance specialists of the Steel Helmet Regiment..." Si Wang stopped talking halfway. With his height advantage, he saw that at the end of the street, a very familiar black armed escort vehicle was slowly driving towards this side under the protection of a group of thugs wearing black market guard uniforms. He had the urge to cover his face and sigh. Could it be that I have a hidden talent of having a bad mouth? One second he was praising Caesars Group for its clean handling of all traces, and the next second they were driving the armored car that had just taken the money from Abydos, swaggering on the streets of the black market. Could it really be the first possibility I speculated? The act of making things difficult for Abydos College was the personal arbitrary decision of a senior executive of Caesar Group, not the decision of the group, so it was revealed in this small detail like the money transportation that no one cared about? Or... some unknown accidents occurred within the Caesar Group, and they had to change their previous policy of boiling the frog in warm water towards Abydos College, and planned to take Abydos out of the pot and chop it directly on the chopping board? Unfortunately, although Caesar Group was clumsy in its work, it did a good job in protecting itself. Internal information only flowed in the intranet built by the company itself. Even if [Aphids] hacked into the mobile phones of Caesar employees, it could not break through the firewall built by the other party. "Eh... aren't those the black market guards?" After calming down from her panic, Hifumi Ajitani, who was most familiar with the black market - she had spent a lot of effort investigating the black market in order to buy the limited edition Pelolo-sama - her eyes widened slightly and she immediately recognized the identities of these people, "Are they patrolling? No, that's not right, it seems like they are escorting something..." "Yes... they are indeed escorting..." Looking at the black escort vehicle slowly passing in front of him, the smile on Izayoi Nomiya's face became very forced, "Because it is a money transport truck..." "Ah?" Ajiya Hifumi turned around in surprise, "Do you recognize this car?" "Of course I know!" Kuromi Serika's teeth were chattering. She stared at the cab of the armored car with vicious eyes, as if she could see the hateful face of the bank clerk inside through the dark glass. "Because it was this car! In the morning! It took away all the wages that my seniors and I worked hard for a month to earn!" "But why did the Caesar Loan armored car appear in the black market?" Okumura Ayane frowned in confusion, "And the direction they are heading... is it the black bank we saw before?" Just as Ayane Okumura said, the black armored car stopped in front of the gate of the black bank, the passenger door was pushed open, and the person who stepped out was the bank employee who came to Abydos to collect debts in the morning. "I'm not mistaken! Isn't that guy the bank employee who comes to Abydos every month to collect interest?!" Kuromi Serika looked at the Caesar Bank employee who was communicating with the Black Bank bodyguards, and her voice unconsciously rose octaves, "Aren't they employees of Caesar Loan? Why would they transport money to the Black Bank in the black market?!" This behavior of directly pasting the answer to the puzzle on people's faces seems to have no need to cover it up. Si Wang lowered his head to look at Hoshino Kotori, who happened to be looking at Si Wang at the same time. The two people's eyes met in the air, and he shrugged helplessly, indicating that if he still tried to fool around now, then he would be treating you, the juniors, as fools. The girl's slender shoulders suddenly slumped. She covered her forehead and agreed helplessly, "Ah, it seems to be true." "Eh?...Eh?!" It was the first time that Ajitani Hifumi heard Abidos mention the name of the company he had loaned money to. Her tone was filled with surprise and disbelief. "So the company you loaned money to...is Caesars Bank?!"
"Although we were not the ones who borrowed the money..." Izayonomiya touched the back of his head in distress, "but the money of Abydos was indeed borrowed from Caesar Bank..." "From what Hifumi said..." Since he couldn't keep it secret any longer, Si Wang simply used Acigu Hifumi's words to tell the girls from Abidos about the Caesars Group. "Have you also heard of the name of Caesars Bank?" "Uh... yes!" Hearing Si Wang's voice, Acigu Hifumi shuddered subconsciously. She swallowed her saliva, calmed her heart which suddenly started beating violently, and said, "Speaking of Caesar Loan, it is a loan sharking project operated by the famous Caesar Group..." "Famous..." Sand Wolf White Frowned slightly, "Does it mean that Caesar Group has a lot of negative news?" "Ah, no, Caesars itself is not criminal, but it is a diversified business that thrives in the grey area." Ajitani Hifumi hesitated for a moment. Although she disliked Caesars Corporation very much, she still chose to describe the Caesars Group from a perspective that was as objective as possible. "For example, this black bank..." The girl pointed to the bank building with grand decorations that was out of place in the black market. "It is one of the companies that Caesar invested in the black market."